Apparatus for viewing information in virtual space using multiple templates

• US 20020069215A1
• Filed: 02/14/2001
• Published: 06/06/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Buffalo Patents, LLC
• Original Assignee: Geophoenix
• Inventors: Guzman, Adriana, Orbanes, Julian
• Granted Patent: US 6,751,620 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/500
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9038 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04804 Transparency, e.g. transparent or translucent windows
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

The invention provides method and apparatus for viewing information. In one embodiment, the system of the invention enables the user to view displayed information in a way that is comparable to a selected physical paradigm. Example physical paradigms include, but are not limited to, financial, educational, governmental, sports, media, retail, travel, geographic, real estate, medical, physiological, mechanical, surveillance, agricultural, industrial, infrastructure, scientific and other like paradigms. By presenting information to the user in a way that more closely mimics physical paradigms, the system provides an intuitive mechanism for the user to view, search through and interact with displayed information in an unrestricted manner. In another embodiment, the appearance is a graphical representation of one or more data objects, related to other data objects through hierarchical relationships defined by one or more templates. As the user adjusts the viewing perspective, the appearance changes in a seemingly continuous, non-discrete manner.

Claims

1. A system for viewing information, said system comprising,

a computing device adapted to employ a plurality data objects contained within at least one data source, a plurality of templates, wherein each of said plurality of templates relates to one of a plurality of first spatial paradigms, and defines hierarchical relationships between said plurality of data objects, and a super template, wherein said super template relates to a second spatial paradigm, and defines further hierarchical relationships between said data objects, to generate an appearance of a subset of said data objects associated with both of at least one of said first spatial paradigms and said second spatial paradigm in a virtual space from an adjustable viewing perspective of a user and to enable said user to navigate said data objects in a substantially unrestricted fashion.

2. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to determine said appearance for said subset of said data objects, wherein said appearance of said subset of said data objects is dependent, at least in part, on hierarchical relationships determined by at least one of said first plurality of templates and said super template, and said viewing perspective of said user.

3. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to change said appearance in a seemingly continuous, non-discrete manner in response to said user commanding an adjustment of said viewing perspective.

4. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to store said data objects associated with said plurality of first spatial paradigms in a database according to said hierarchical relationships defined by said plurality of templates.

5. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to enable a third party to define at least a portion of said hierarchical relationships between at least a portion of said data objects for a particular data source.

6. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to enable a third party to specify said physical paradigm.

7. A system according to claim 4 further adapted to re-profile said at least one data source to update said data objects stored in said database.

8. A system according to claim 4 further adapted to deconstruct at least one prior existing hierarchical relationship between said data objects before storing said data objects in said database.

9. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to extract data objects associated with said plurality of first physical paradigms from at least one Web server computer.

10. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to extract said data objects associated with said plurality of first physical paradigms from at least one of a legacy database, a live information feed, a substantially real-time source, a file system, a storage device, a simulation, a model and a file.

11. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to provide said virtual appearance for each of said subset of said data objects by rendering selected details of said subset of said data objects, wherein said selected details approximate a physical appearance that said subset of said data objects would have to a user having said viewing perspective.

12. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to define a virtual distance between said user and said subset of said data objects, and to determine said appearance of said subset of said data objects, at least in part, in dependence on said virtual distance.

13. A system according to claim 12 further adapted to display more detail for ones of said data objects in response to said virtual distance decreasing.

14. A system according to claim 12 further adapted to display less detail for ones of said data objects in response to said virtual distance increasing.

15. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to enable said user to enter a term, to determine a correspondence between any of said plurality of data objects and said term, and in response to determining a correspondence, to include corresponding ones of said plurality of data objects in said subset of said data objects.

16. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to define a viewing direction for said user, to define an angle between said viewing direction and at least one of said data objects, and to determine said appearance of said at least one of said data objects, at least in part, in dependence on said angle.

17. A system according to claim 16 further adapted to fixing said viewing direction.

18. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to define a virtual position of said user in relation to said subset of said data objects, to cache graphical information for one or more data objects virtually located within a predefined vicinity of said user, and to employ said cached graphical information to provide said virtual appearance for at least one of said one or more data objects in response to said user navigating within a predefined virtual distance of said at least one of said one or more data objects.

19. A system according to claim 18 further adapted to determine whether one or more data objects are virtually located within said predefined vicinity in dependence on said hierarchical relationships of said data objects and said hierarchical relationship defined by said super user.

20. A system according to claim 18 further adapted to determine whether one or more data objects are virtually located within said predefined vicinity based on predefined coordinates of said data objects in said virtual representation, starting from the virtual position of said user.

21. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to enable said user to control said viewing perspective.

22. A system according to claim 21 further adapted to determine a projected virtual trajectory of said user by monitoring said user control of said viewing perspective, to cache graphical information for one or more data objects virtually located along said projected virtual trajectory, and to employ said cached graphical information to provide said virtual appearance for at least one of said one or more data objects in response to said user continuing along said projected virtual trajectory.

23. A system according to claim 1, further adapted to define a virtual distance between said user and each of said subset of said data objects, to enable said user to increase and decrease said virtual distance with respect to each of said subset of said data objects, and to determine said appearance of said subset of said data objects, at least in part, in dependence on said virtual distance.

24. A system according to claim 23 further adapted to define a rate of change of said virtual distance, and to determine said appearance of said subset of said data objects, at least in part, in dependence on said rate of change of said virtual distance.

25. A system according to claim 24 further adapted to enable said user to control said rate of change of said virtual distance.

26. A system according to claim 24 further adapted to enable said user to pass by ones of said subset of said data objects in response to said user changing said virtual distance, and in response to said rate of change of said virtual distance increasing, to determine said ones of said subset of said data objects to be rendered with less detail.

27. A system according to claim 24 further adapted to enable said user to pass by ones of said subset of said data objects in response to said user changing said virtual distance, and in response to said rate of change of said virtual distance decreasing, to determine said ones of said subset of said data objects to be rendered with more detail.

28. A system according to claim 23 further adapted to define a virtual acceleration, and to determine said appearance of said subset of said data objects, at least in part, in dependence on said virtual acceleration.

29. A system according to claim 28 further adapted to enable said user to control said virtual acceleration.

30. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to define a virtual translational position of said user with respect to said subset of said data objects, and to determine said appearance of said subset of said data objects, at least in part, in dependence on said translational position.

31. A system according to claim 30 further adapted to enable said user to change said translational position with respect to said subset of said data objects.

32. A system according to claim 30 further adapted to define a rate of change of said translational position, and to determine said appearance of said subset of said data objects, at least in part, in dependence on said rate of change of said translational position.

33. A system according to claim 32 further adapted to enable said user to control said rate of change of said translational position.

34. A system according to claim 32 further adapted to enable said user to pan past ones of said subset of said data objects in response to said user changing said translational position, and in response to said rate of change of said translational position increasing, to determine said ones of said subset of said data objects to be rendered with less detail.

35. A system according to claim 32 further adapted to enable said user to pan past ones of said subset of said data objects in response to said user changing said translational position, and in response to said rate of change of said translational position decreasing, to determine said ones of said subset of said data objects to be rendered with more detail.

36. A system according to claim 30 further adapted to define a translational acceleration, and to determine said appearance of said subset of said data objects, at least in part, in dependence on said translational acceleration.

37. A system according to claim 36 further adapted to enable said user to control said translational acceleration.

38. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to define a viewing direction for said user, to define a viewing angle between said viewing direction and said subset of said data objects, to enable said user to change said viewing angle with respect to said subset of said data objects, and to determine said appearance of said subset of said data objects, at least in part, in dependence on said viewing angle.

39. A system according to claim 38 further adapted to define a rate of change of said viewing angle, and to determine said appearance of said subset of said data objects, at least in part, in dependence on said rate of change of said viewing angle.

40. A system according to claim 39 further adapted to enable said user to control said rate of change of said viewing angle.

41. A system according to claim 39 further adapted to enable said user to pan past ones of said subset of said data objects in response to said user changing said viewing angle, and in response to said rate of change of said viewing angle increasing, to determine said ones of said subset of said data objects to be rendered with less detail.

42. A system according to claim 39 further adapted to enable said user to pan past ones of said subset of said data objects in response to said user changing said viewing angle, and in response to said rate of change of said viewing angle decreasing, to determine said ones of said subset of said data objects to be rendered with more detail.

43. A system according to claim 39 further adapted to define an angular acceleration, and to determine said appearance of said subset of said data objects, at least in part, in dependence on said angular acceleration.

44. A system according to claim 43 further adapted to enable said user to control said angular acceleration.

45. A system according to claim 1 wherein in said first spatial paradigms and said second spatial paradigm are a physical paradigm including at least one of financial, educational, government, sports, media, retail, travel, geographic, real estate, medical, physiological, automotive, mechanical, database, e-commerce, news, infrastructure, engineering, scientific, fashion-based, art-based, music-based, anatomy, surveillance, agricultural, petroleum industry, inventory, search engines and internal personal digital assistant structure, and said first physical paradigms and said second physical paradigms need not be the same.

46. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to display said appearance on a client.

47. A system according to claim 46 further adapted to display said subset of said data objects on one of a television, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a wearable computer, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a kiosk, a key chain display, a watch display, a touch screen, an aircraft display, a watercraft display, an automotive display, a video game display, a vending machine, a display and sound playing device.

48. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to conceptually organize said data objects in hierarchical plates for display, wherein each of said hierarchical plates includes one or more of said data objects.

49. A system according to claim 47 further adapted to display to said user at least a subset of said one or more of said data objects included in a first one of said hierarchical plates.

50. A system according to claim 49 further adapted to define virtual distances from each of said hierarchical plates to said user, as said virtual distance from said first one of said hierarchical plates to said user decreases, to display a reduced number of said one or more of said data objects included in said first one of said hierarchical plates, and to display more detail with respect to said reduced number, and as said virtual distance from said first one of said hierarchical plates to said user increases, to display an increased number of said one or more of said data objects included in said first one of said hierarchical plates, and to display less detail with respect to said reduced number.

51. A system according to claim 48 further adapted to define at least one of said hierarchical plates to be translucent, wherein said one or more data objects stored on a second one of said hierarchical plates located at a greater virtual distance from said user than said first one of said hierarchical plates can be at least partially viewed by said user through said first one of said hierarchical plates.

52. A system according to claim 48 further adapted to define at least one of said hierarchical plates to be opaque, wherein said one or more data objects stored on a second one of said hierarchical plates located at a greater virtual distance from said user than said first one of said hierarchical plates cannot be viewed by said user through said first one of said hierarchical plates.

53. A system according to claim 48 further adapted to define a closest one of said hierarchical plates as having a smallest one of said virtual distances, and to employ said closest one of said hierarchical plates as said first one of said hierarchical plates.

54. A system according to claim 58 further adapted to conceptually organize said data objects in said hierarchical plates by including in each of said hierarchical plates hierarchically equivalent ones of said one or more data objects.

55. A system according to claim 48 further adapted to define a virtual translational position of said user with respect to said subset of said data objects, to enable said user to change said translational position with respect to said subset of said data objects, and to determine said appearance of said subset of said data objects, at least in part, in dependence on said translational position.

56. A system according to claim 55 further adapted to determine said subset of said data objects, at least in part, in dependence on said translational position of said user.

57. A system according to claim 50 further adapted to enable said user to vary said virtual distance with respect to each of said hierarchical plates.

58. A system according to claim 53 further adapted to define a threshold smallest virtual distance at which said closest one of said hierarchical plates is determined to be located virtually behind said user, and in response to said user navigating to said threshold smallest virtual distance, to cease to display said closest one of said hierarchical plates, and to define a hierarchical plate having a next smallest virtual distance to be said closest one of said hierarchical plates.

59. A system according to claim 58 further adapted to provide a visual indication to said user as to which of said hierarchical plates is being displayed.

60. A system according to claim 59 further adapted to employ a breadcrumb trail.

61. A system according to claim 59 further adapted to enable said user to select a representation of one of said hierarchical plates displayed in said visual indication to change said appearance to said selected one of said hierarchical plates.

62. A system according to claim 59 further adapted to employ concentric graphical screens to provide said visual indication.

63. A system according to claim 59 further adapted to employ a graphical display to provide said visual indication.

64. A system according to claim 59 further adapted to employ a textual display to provide said visual indication.

65. A system according to claim 50 further adapted to define said hierarchical plates to have a virtual thickness, wherein said virtual thickness provides an indication of a virtual distance from said user to a particular data object in said hierarchical plate, wherein in response to said user virtually navigating through said hierarchical plate to decrease said virtual distance from said user to said particular data object, said system displays more detail with respect to said particular data object, and in response to said user navigating through said hierarchical plate to increase said virtual distance from said user to said particular data object, said system displays less detail with respect to said particular data object.

66. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to enable said user to control said viewing perspective by way of a hand-held device.

67. A system according to claim 66 wherein said hand-held device includes a pointing portion to enable said user to control said viewing perspective.

68. A system according to claim 67 wherein said hand-held device is further adapted to enable said user to control said viewing perspective by actuating said pointing portion along a longitudinal axis.

69. A system according to claim 66 wherein said hand-held device includes one of a plurality of control buttons, a microphone, a speaker and a tactile generator.

70. A system according to claim 69 wherein said plurality of control buttons are further adapted to enable said user to control said viewing perspective.

71. A system according to claim 69 wherein said plurality of control buttons are further adapted to perform a predefined transaction.

72. A system according to claim 1 further including a kiosk to perform said displaying.

73. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to display to said user discrete viewing options, and in response to selection of a particular one of said discrete viewing options, altering said viewing perspective of said user.

74. A system according to claim 73 further comprising a kiosk to perform said displaying.

75. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to display to said user five discrete viewing options, and in response to selection of a particular one of said discrete viewing options, to alter said viewing perspective of said user.

76. A system according to claim 75 further adapted to display to said user five discrete viewing options arranged to fit a hand.

77. A system according to claim 75 further comprising a kiosk to perform said displaying.

78. A system according to claim 4 further adapted to perform at least one of said storing and said displaying on a first device, and to enable said user to transfer said data objects from said first device to a second device.

79. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to enable one of said user and a developer to modify said appearance of said data objects.

80. A system according to claim 79 further adapted to enable said one of said user and said developer to modify at least one of a coordinate, a position, a height, a width and a depth of said appearance of said data objects.

81. A system according to claim 79 further adapted to provide a graphical user interface to modify said appearance of said data objects.

82. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to enable one of said user and a developer to modify said hierarchical relationships between said data objects.

83. A system according to claim 82 further adapted to enable said one of said user and said developer to modify at least one of a parent-child relationship, a coordinate relationship, a zoom-to relationship and a link-to relationship of said hierarchical relationships between said data objects.

84. A system according to claim 82 further adapted to provide a graphical user interface for performing said modification.

85. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to automatically adjust said viewing perspective according to a predefined traversal of said hierarchical relationship between said data objects.

86. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to define a coordinate system including at least three dimensions in said virtual space, and locate said data objects in said virtual space according to said coordinate system.

87. A system according to claim 86 further adapted to define said adjustable viewing perspective of said user viewing said appearance of said subset of said data objects in accordance with said coordinate system, and to determine said appearance for said subset of said data objects in dependence, at least in part, on said adjustable viewing perspective of said user.

88. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to generate said appearance of a subset of said data objects using a two dimensional matrix of pixels.

89. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to generate said appearance of a subset of said data objects using a n array of vector elements.

90. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to generate a node tree to represent said hierarchical relationships between said data objects, each node of said node tree representing each data object.

91. A system according to claim 90 further adapted to generate said appearance of a subset of said data objects wherein said appearance portrays one or more data objects corresponding to one or more parent nodes on a same level of said node tree.

92. A system according to claim 90 further adapted to generate said appearance of a subset of said data objects wherein said appearance portrays one or more data objects corresponding to one or more children nodes of said parent nodes in less detail, said less detail creating an appearance that hose data objects corresponding to said children nodes are farther away from user than said data objects corresponding to said parent nodes.

93. A system according to claim 96 further adapted to generate said appearance of a subset of said data objects wherein said appearance portrays all data objects corresponding to each node on a same level of said node tree.

94. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to enable said user to control said viewing perspective by way of a wireless hand-held device.

95. A system according to claim 1 wherein said physical paradigm belongs to a category of one of information, entertainment, services and transactions.

96. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to provide said appearance for each of said subset of said data objects by rendering selected details of said subset of said data objects in dependence on processing capabilities of a client device.

97. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to provide said appearance for each of said subset of said data objects by rendering selected details of said subset of said data objects in dependence on a communication channel capability.